Ronin Infantry
by Rogue Ronin
Summary: The Ronins have turned into chibis.. And Talpa has them..A resubmitted challenge from Firestorm
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that deals with Ronin Warriors in any way or fashion. This fic was a challenge from Firestorm. So just kick back and enjoy. Also, this story is going to be OC because the Ronins could have been different from when they were kids to how they are in the present. 

Summary:

The Ronins have turned into chibis.. And Talpa has them.. Except he can't kill them.. Because in order for the armors to work, he needs them alive.. So.. Talpa is forced to play a daddy.  
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Ronin Infantry  
Ch 1

A lone figure, donned in gray armor, stood in front of a black cauldron that was set in the middle of the room. Smoke rose from the bubbling mixture, rising higher and higher until it dissipated in front of his red plated face. A deep and bone chilling evil laugh started low in his throat, and then boomed so loud the echoes traveled through the castle's corridors.

Four other figures turned their heads toward the door when they heard their master. They looked inquisitively at each other. They knew that laugh. For he always laughed when he had a scheme. But what could it be?

A long-auburn haired man with dark set eyes frowned deeply. He had known Talpa for years, but even he could not second guess him. Their master had not even told them of any plans he had which the man found rather odd. "Master Talpa is up to something," he said. "But what exactly could it be?"

"I wouldn't doubt, Anubis, that we'll find out sooner or later," Dais replied when he leaned back and closed his eye.

"Whatever the master has planned, I'm sure it will be glorious," Cale stated in a manner of fact tone.

Sekhmet raised a brow toward them. "As long as the master's plan gets rid of those annoying Ronin brats once and for all, I don't really care."

Their curiosity got the better of the Warlords, and they decided to see exactly what their master had in mind. They got up and walked to where Talpa had just spoken the last part of the incantation. Five recognizable rays of colors shot up from the cauldron and then hovered above. The five rays started to circle and then they phased into darker shades. Each ray morphed into a tiny orb with each of the Ronins' virtues engraved on them.

With a flick of Talpa's wrist, the five tiny orbs flew out of the castle and toward the Ronins' home.

"Master, if you don't mind me asking, could you tell us what you are doing?" Anubis questioned with a slight frown.

"I've put into action a plan that will reverse the aging of those annoying Ronins. Then that way the four of you can retrieve and bring them here. It'll be less of a fight to reclaim the armors from them when they're infants," Talpa replied with an evil grin. "After your embarrassing defeats, my Warlords, a strategic scheme will take your place. We will keep the Ronins here as children, making them useful to me for my own glory. If you doubt that this will work then watch and see for yourselves."

Their master's cruel words were nothing unusual to them. They had heard his reprimands time and time again. At the command of Talpa, the Warlords turned to watch the viewing mirror with morbid curiosity. The Koji Manor appeared on the screen and soon they could see inside where all five Ronins were lounging.

Ryo sighed as he finished his last crunch on the floor. He had been doing crunches for the past half hour. The last battle he had with Anubis had left him particularly sore, and he did not wish to go through it again. He looked toward the clock and smiled. He had done it. Two hundred crunches in one hour.

He stood up and sighed. It was good of Mia to turn one part of the basement into a full fledged gym. Here they could spar and train when the weather became too rough or cold. This was where Ryo spent most of his days when he was not sleeping. He took a towel off the rack and wiped his face. Then he sighed. "I better go see what the guys are up to."

He headed upstairs and found himself in the living room. The television was on and everyone was engrossed by what was on. "Hey, guys," Ryo greeted as he sat down beside Sage. "What's on?"

"A documentary on mythology," Sage said. His arms were crossed and his vision stared directly at the screen as if he were in a trance.

"A documentary?"

"Yeah," Rowen said, "it was something all of us felt inspired to watch. Especially when it talks about ancient armors."

"Ancient armors?"

"Quiet, dude!" Kento said as he turned the sound up.

Ryo stared at the screen, listening as the narrator explained ancient myths, both realized and unrealized throughout the centuries. But a strange feeling overcame him. He frowned deeply. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He could hear a scream in the back of his mind and for a moment he quickly glanced around.

Beside him Sage suddenly stood. "Did you guys hear anything?"

The television was put on mute and they listened. Ryo's eyes darted back and forth. It was silent. Or was it? A strange humming sound penetrated through his ear drums. The sound was getting louder and louder. But what was it? Where could it be coming from?

Kento felt he was going to explode. He anticipated action, but it was too still for him. At first he did not hear whatever it was that Ryo and Sage heard, but as he stood still and allowed himself to listen, he began to hear it as well. "I hear a buzzing sound!" he whispered.

"It sounds like buzzing to me too," Cye said after a moment had passed.

"I hear humming," Ryo admitted and Sage nodded in agreement.

Rowen was silent. A frown crossed his features as he contemplated what his friends were hearing. He could not hear anything at all and at first wondered if his friends had gone insane. His eyes searched about the room. Something didn't feel right to him.

The lights slightly dimmed suddenly, and they wasted no time in bringing forth their armor orbs. It was still quiet. At first Sage thought Cale was nearby, and his eyes darted back and forth as sweat glistened on his face.

It happened quickly. The front window blew open and glass shards flew inward to the living room. The Ronins' mouths dropped open in shock, but their initial alarm did not last long. A heavy wind blew into the house, pushing them back, and knocking furniture over, and sending smaller items flying through the air.

"What's happening?!" Cye demanded as he shielded himself from a flying lamp.

"I don't know, Cye! But whatever it is, you can bet it has Talpa written all over it!" Sage answered as he dodged an armchair.

"Hey! Rowen's books are attacking me!" Kento cried out. Sure enough, several books were slamming themselves against the bearer of Hardrock. He grunted and used his elbow and his hand to deflect them. "I always knew these books were evil!"

"Hey! My books are not evil!" Rowen shot back.

"This is no time to argue!" Ryo snapped at them. He focused his attention toward the broken window. He could sense them. But where were they? "We know you're there!" he shouted through the window. "Why don't you come and face us! Or are you too scared?"

A crack of thunder and a flash of lightning caught their attention. The five Ronins stared out into the darkness. They could not see them, but they were certainly there. There was silence then. The wind had stopped blowing, and there was no lightning nor thunder.

Sage was concerned. Why had they suddenly assailed them without physically making contact? It made no sense to him, and there was a great desire of concern. He had a bad feeling.

"That's it?" Kento said in disbelief. "Man, what a bunch of chickens! They were afraid to come out and fight us!"

"I don't think that was it, Kento," Rowen said with a frown. "Knowing the Warlords, they wouldn't just give up that easily."

"Rowen is right," Cye said. "We better stay alert."

The five Ronins were back to back, with their eyes peeled, and the muscles in their bodies tense. It was quiet now, too quiet. Kento fidgeted. He was getting restless. He wanted action. He wanted to fight. He bounced lightly on his feet, ready to spring at a moment's notice.

Ryo was the first to notice them. Five small colored orbs were floating toward the house. As they came closer and closer he could see their kanjis written upon the orbs. But something wasn't right about them. They felt dark. "Heads up, guys!"

They turned to face the direction Ryo was looking in. By now the strange orbs were at the window.

"Huh? Our orbs?" Cye was confused. This made no sense to him. What was going on?

"Those aren't our orbs, Cye," Ryo said as he backed up.

"They look just like ours," Kento mused, "but only darker."

"I don't like this," Sage said. "What's Talpa up to?"

"No idea, Sage," Rowen said. "But if it's Talpa, you'd think he'd come up with a better plan."

"He's losing his touch!" Cye declared.

The orbs were in the living room now, and they spun around the Ronins in a full circle. Faster and faster they went, glowing brighter and brighter. Once again, Sage and Ryo heard the familiar humming sound, and Kento and Cye heard the buzzing. Rowen still could not hear anything, but his feeling of dread increased more and more as the orbs were circling them in a dizzying effort.

It was unbelievable. They did not understand what was happening, but they knew that Talpa was using a different tactic. Sage attempted to call forth his subarmor, but a wave of shock struck against him. He winced and gritted his teeth as he looked toward the dark version of his orb.

'We cannot call forth our subarmors,' he realized.

Ryo looked toward Sage and grimaced. Was this the end of the Ronin Warriors?

The Warlords were impressed. The ingenuity of their master had them desiring to be more adept in their plans of attack. But Talpa had lived for many centuries. During that time, he had studied humans and learned all about their needs, their desires, their weaknesses, strengths, and so on. These facts alone helped Talpa to make the best possible plan of attack.

Cale grinned as he watched Sage of the Halo suffer. The poor fool. Had he been more in tune to his own armor, he would have figured out the negative impact the dark orbs held. But Sage was always in the dark, even when he thought he was within the light.

Sekhmet continued to watch. Being a patient man that he was, he knew it was a matter of time before something happened. The orbs were still gyrating the Ronins at a startling velocity that it seemed they were made of nothing more than air. It was rather humorous watching one of the Ronins become slightly dizzy.

Dais was expecting something to happen. He did not take his eye off the viewing mirror as he feared he would miss anything. How long the orbs would continue he did not know. All he knew was the enjoyment he felt at Kento's expense.

Anubis narrowed his eyes. Unlike the others he was not so patient. He wanted something to happen and soon. He remained motionless as he did not wish to provoke Talpa's wrath. Talpa was not kind when it came to insubordination. The Warlords were to remain at a standstill and watch what was happening.

The dark orbs were circling faster and faster around the group of the Ronins. So fast they were that Kento felt dizzy just watching. He closed his eyes briefly in an attempt to calm his racing brain.

Rowen was nervous. They could not call their subarmors, and they had no way to defend themselves. Every time they attempted to escape, a certain amount of force struck against them. It was slightly painful, but did not render them unconscious.

"Man, we need to figure a way to stop these things," he said after a moment.

"Yeah. Any ideas?" Ryo looked back toward him without actually turning around. He hoped Rowen would say that he did, but to his dismay Rowen did not.

"I can't believe Talpa would use such an idea as this," Cye said with a frown.

"What I want to know is, what is going to happen?" Kento said. He was getting more and more irritated. Something needed to occur.

And something did. The orbs suddenly stopped and were very still in the air. Sage glanced at Kento, annoyed. "You had to say something."

They were apprehensive and very alert. Having no idea what was going to happen, they strived to ready themselves. Nothing could have prepared them for what would take place next. A single line of dark energy struck each Ronin in the chest.

The pain. It was terrible. It burned with an icy feeling. Ryo was gasping even as he was thrown back.

Each of them hit the floor rather hard. Their bodies were agonizing to them. It was hard to breathe. Pain was not something new to them, not by a long shot. Still, they wondered how it had come to be.

The pain took hold of them for a few minutes, causing their bodies to convulse. They gritted their teeth as they were forced to endure the onslaught. But then gradually the pain stopped and slowly faded away. The orbs abruptly vanished.

Kento was the first to stand up. Groaning, he placed his hand on his head and looked at the others. "Man, what a slam," he mumbled.

"Everyone okay?" Ryo asked after he struggled to his feet.

"I think so," Cye said hesitantly as he slowly rose.

"What was that?" Sage asked as he got up. His ears were ringing and placing his fingers inside did little to help.

"I don't know," Rowen said as he weakly stood, "but I bet it was Talpa."

Thinking of their current situation had them knowing that Rowen was right. True, they had had many enemies in times of past, Talpa was the one who somehow kept coming back. It was something they did not understand, and probably never would. Talpa was a powerful demon, and unless they found a way to cut his power, they would never destroy him.

Fatigue settled upon them. Whatever they had been attacked with had caused their energy to deplete slightly. There was no denying it. They needed sleep. But the mess of the house prevented them from directly going up the stairs.

They began to clean the place, taking out the debris and straightening the knocked over furniture. As for the broken windows, Rowen and Ryo cleared the frames, and Kento and Sage put plastic over them as Cye fastened the plastic into place.

"This will have to do until we can go to the hardware store and get glass windows," Cye said as he stepped back. A long yawn escaped his mouth.

"We'll head out tomorrow," Ryo said as he stretched. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to sleep for a while." He headed upstairs to his room.

It didn't take long for the others to make their decision. The house was straightened and the doors were secure. They did not sense any evil lurking nearby. Sleep sounded good. One by one they headed upstairs to their rooms as well.

Talpa chuckled as he watched his enemies. They were lying on their beds, fast asleep. Within twenty four hours the changes would take effect and they would no longer be as they once were. He turned to the Warlords.

"The Ronins will become children during the night. Granted I could kill them, I will not. I want them alive. That monk placed a certain power within each of them that only they can activate."

"Master, forgive me for speaking so boldly," Dais spoke as he looked at the demon, "but why can't we torture them as they are? Surely we could persuade them to activating this power you speak of."

"Fool!" Talpa sneered. "Many times have we tried torture techniques! They were always against me! Have you forgotten that, Dais?" His eyes glowed and Dais shrank back.

"Forgive me, sire," Dais said automatically. "I was wrong."

Talpa glowered at him. "Keep in mind of what I say. When the Ronins are children it will be less of a hassle to me. Once I have what I want, they will become their true age once again. Only this time they will be weaker than before. And so torturing them will become more pleasurable."

Anubis kept silent. The other Warlords seemed hard pressed into fighting the Ronins when they were weak, but he did not see the point. What was the point in feeling victorious if his enemy could barely put up a fight? Still, he wisely chose to remain silent.

Late in the night as they slept, a physical change took over Kento, Sage, Ryo, Cye, and Rowen. Their bodies slowly reverted back to their childhood stage. Their bodies grew smaller, their heads seemed to enlarge slightly, and their clothes were now three times too big. By morning, the effects would cause more than just fear and alarm. It would cause total chaos.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Kento woke up to his stomach growling. He frowned tiredly as he swung his legs over to the side and fell to the ground. "Ouch!" The orange Ronin rubbed his tailbone as he winced in pain. He looked up and then over towards his friend. "Cye?" 

Cye groaned tiredly as he turned over and faced him. His eyes were half open when he looked over towards him. "Yea?"

"Um, my clothes are too big," Kento replied when he tugged on his muscle shirt. "AH! I'm swiming in my shirt!"

Kento's yell woke the remaining Ronins up. They stumbled out of their rooms and over each other as they finally made it to Cye and Kento's room.

"What the? Cye, Kento, you're small!" Ryo exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Oh yea? You're not so big either!" Kento shot back.

The five boys looked at each other in disbelief, and then everything broke loose.

Cye started to cry, while Kento taunted by calling him baby Cye.

Sage didn't really change much personality wise, he still was quiet and thoughtful.

Rowen looked over at Kento and Cye and said no at least three times in a row from Kento's teasing.

Ryo for some reason hid behind the couch, and then he peeked over the side of it and saw Sage look over towards him. Ryo said peek a boo and then hid again.

Kento's eyes went wide in excitement when he saw a box that laid upon the table. He climbed the chair and peeked over the edge of it. Just as he raised further up on his tip toes, and then tumbled inside head first. "Ouchie!"

"No! no ouchie," Rowen exclaimed back at the orange Ronin.

Kento reached up and pulled himself to stand. A small opened bag of packaging peanuts broke further and rained over his head. The small orange Ronin started to push the packaging peanuts out of his face. "Stop laughing. Not funny!"

"No!" Rowen shouted back and then took off running and climbed as fast as his little legs could onto a chair.

As soon as Kento got himself out of the box and down onto the floor. He hobbled over to where Rowen climbed and shook his tiny fist at him.

Cye sniffled when he plopped down on the floor and wiped his eyes.

Sage still hadn't said anything for a while, he just kept thinking.

"Peek a boo," Ryo called out when he saw Cye looking at him and then laughed and ducked behind the couch again.

"As you can see my warlords, you'll have no trouble in bringing those rug rats to me," Talpa pointed out. "This will ensure me to regain my entire armor! Now go!"

The four Warlords bowed and then phased out of the room in order to fulfill their master's order.

It didn't take long for the Warlords to have arrived at the manor. Just as the four of them entered, they were looked upon from the five little Ronins.

"Strangers!" All of them yelled in unison and then scattered into different places around the room.

The four Warlords sweat dropped when they saw them scatter, and then they looked at each other.

"Come on, let's just get this over with," Sekhmet said when he and the other Warlords spread out.

"Alright, Strata, you're coming back with me to the Dynasty, so don't give me any trouble," Dais told him sternly.

Rowen frowned deeply from his place behind a large table leg, "No! No! No!"

"Look, come with me, and I'll give you candy," Dais taunted as he tried to reach around for him.

"No," Rowen shouted again, but then his eyes widened in excitement when he heard his favorite word, "Candy! Candy! Candy!"

Anubis walked over towards the couch to where Ryo had been hiding. "Why don't you come out Wildfire?"

Ryo peeked his head only half way and then his eyes met with Anubis's, "Peek a boo!"

Anubis was taken back by surprise that he missed his chance when Ryo ducked back behind.

Cale cornered Cye and Kento. Cye started to sniffle and was on the verge of crying. Kento stayed in front of him staring Cale down.

"Let's go you two, I don't have time for this," Cale growled in a bit of annoyance.

Kento looked around and then he saw a couple of roller blades. He picked them up and threw them at the Warlord, "Hardrock!" When the roller blades hit Cale, Kento flexed his muscles and laughed.

Cale stumbled back and looked upon Kento in disbelief. Even in his tiny frame, he still had a lot of strength for a small child.

"Enough of this, they're only children," Anubis pointed out, "Just gather them up and let's get them to master Talpa."

"What do you think we're doing Anubis? Giving them piggy back rides," Sekhmet shot back in annoyance.

Just as when Sekhmet said piggy back rides, each of the five chibi Ronins eyes went wide in excitement, as they jumped up and down. "Piggy back rides! Give piggy back rides!"

The four Warlords looked at each other and then blinked in disbelief. They couldn't believe what they were going to do, but if it was going to get them to the Dynasty it was worth a shot. So they knelt down on their knees as they waited for the little Ronins to have climbed upon their backs.

Ryo pounced upon Anubis's back and wrapped his tiny little arms around the Warlord's neck.

Then Anubis stood up when he rolled his eyes as he secured Wildfire to him.

Sage climbed upon Dais's back, and the Warlord of Illusion followed Anubis's lead.

Rowen perched upon Sekhmet's back, and once the Warlord of Venom knew that he was secured he stood.

Then that left Kento and Cye. Kento took hold of Cye's hand and then they leapt onto Cale's back.

Cale almost fell forward from the force of their landing on his back. Then once he became stable, Cale stood up with both of them secured. "Can we just get back now before something else happens?"

The other Warlords gave a slight nod and then they shimmered out of the manor with the chibi Ronins, and finally they arrived inside of Talpa's castle.

The little Ronins' eyes went wide from when they saw the interior of the castle.

"Spooky," Cye said when he hid his head into Cale's back.

Kento looked at his friend, "Don't worry Cye, I'm here. I won't let the monsters get you. They'll run from me."

Cye looked up and then smiled at Kento, and then the small bearer of Hardrock smiled back.

When the Warlords continued towards the throne room. Ryo started to get very excited as he started to bounce up and down upon Anubis' back, "Oooh! Fire! Burn fire burn!"

The Warlord of cruelty glanced back in annoyance from the corner of his eye, "Stop that! Don't bounce on my back like a trampoline!"

The five little Ronins became excited again, "Trampoline! We want to jump! We want to jump!"

"No, you can't jump just yet. Behave and you might jump later," Dais told them as they entered the throne room.

"Whoa, who is that," Rowen asked when Talpa entered the room, "He looks like a walking tin man."

Talpa bit back his reaction and then replied in a calm manner, "I am Talpa, and this is my castle. Warlords, set them down."

They gave no second thoughts on their master's order and set them down as fast as they could, and then stepped back.

Sage looked at Talpa in a thoughtful manner as he finally spoke, "You seem familiar?"

"Of course he does, master Talpa and the rest of us, we're your uncles," Dais replied quickly when he glanced over towards the others and then shrugged.

Kento looked at them quizzically, "Our uncles? Funny, you don't look like us."

"We're your distant uncles, it's a long story and we don't have time to tell it. Maybe another time. Now, let's see about getting the five of you settled in," Talpa replied and then he looked at the Warlords, "Show them to their room."

The four Warlords gave a slight nod and then ushered them to a secluded room that was made up for their convenience. A huge room that had a huge toy chest and a few bunk beds decorated the area. A small bathroom was over in the corner, and a fridge was on the other side of the room.

The four left in a hurry as they shut the door and left the five small Ronins inside.

"I'm relieved that we are away from those brats! I couldn't stand to be with them for more than five minutes," Sekhmet stated when the Warlords walked down the corridors.

"Just play along for now, until master Talpa gets his armors, and then this whole thing will be over," Dais reminded him when they returned to their quarters.

In the toy room, shortly after the Warlords left, a rumbling was heard in the room.

The other four Ronins looked at Kento with funny expressions.

Kento blushed a little when he scratched the back of his head, "Hey, I can't help it. I'm hungry."

Rowen shook his head, "No! I'm hungry!"

"Hey, I was hungry first, so you can't be hungry," Kento exclaimed when he scowled at the blue haired archer.

"I can too," Rowen shouted back as he glared at the orange Ronin.

"Can't!"

"Can too!"

"No way!"

"Yes way to infinity!"

Kento blinked in slight confusion, "Infiny what? You made that up!"

"No I didn't," Rowen shouted back as he stood his ground.

"Don't fight," Cye said when he finally found his voice, "Fighting not nice. Now, make up."

Kento and Rowen looked at each other, and then with a sigh they nodded and apologized to each other.

"Peek a boo," Ryo said as he opened the fridge door. He blinked in awe when he saw what was inside. The Ronin of Wildfire was going to tell them what he found, but decided not to. So with a sly grin he reached inside and took a piece of chocolate cake and mashed it into his mouth. He had chocolate all over his hand and face. Ryo then quickly closed the fridge door. He was about to reach for a fire engine when Sage looked at him as he had his arms crossed.

Ryo looked up towards the blonde Ronin with big saucer type eyes.

"How was the cake," Sage asked as he stood in front of him.

"Cake? What cake," Ryo asked as he tried his best to be innocent.

"You're wearing chocolate on your face and hand," Sage pointed out.

"This, oh, this isn't chocolate, it's…um…it's mud! Yea mud," Ryo replied with a smile.

"Where's the mud? There is no water, no dirt," Sage inquired when he raised his brow towards him.

Ryo scowled at Sage, "Ok, ok, so it's cake, I admit it. You're no fun!"

Sage smirked with satisfaction, "No fun? Oh yea, well we'll see about that," the green Ronin found a bucket and carried it to a sink and filled it. Then he came back.

Ryo looked at him suspiciously, "What do you have in there?"

"You'll find out," Sage replied when he raised the bucket, and water rained upon Ryo's body. When the bucket was empty, Sage threw it to the side. "Now who isn't any fun?"

Ryo blinked in disbelief as the others were surprised by what Sage had done. "I'm wet...You got me wet!"

"Serves you right for eating all of the cake," Sage replied when he crossed his arms.

"There was cake," Kento exclaimed as he looked at them in complete surprise, "No one said anything about cake!"

Ryo looked around at all of his friends with an apologetical look in his eyes, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to."


	3. Chapter 3

Ronin Infantry

Ch 3

"I don't want to be in here any more. No comics, no coloring books, and now no food. I'm bored." Kento stated as he plopped down onto the floor and crossed his arms.

Cye frowned a bit in slight confusion, "Comics? Kento, we can't read yet."

"So, we can still look at pictures." Kento replied as he stuck out his tongue at him.

Rowen closed his eyes as he thought to himself, 'Maybe they can't, but I can. I'm smart.'

Sage looked over towards the blue Ronin, 'If you're smart? Then how do we get out?'

Rowen's eyes shot open as he snapped his attention over towards Sage. "You…You heard my thoughts! You're creepy!"

Sage's eyes went wide and then narrowed, "No! I'm not creepy!"

"Are too!"

"Not, and take that back!"

"Come and make me!"

Ryo, Kento, and Cye turned their attention towards the other two bickering Ronins.

"What are they fighting about?" Cye asked.

Ryo just shrugged, "I dunno…Let's go play."

"Ok, it's not like we have anything better to do." Kento replied as the three of them walked over to the other side of the room.

Rowen and Sage noticed that their three friends were on the other side and not even paying attention to their fight.

"Hey, what were we fighting about again?" Rowen asked.

Sage thought about it for a while and shook his head. "I dunno. Do you want to see what the others are doing?"

"Um, ok." Rowen replied as the two walked over towards them.

"Hey, mind if we play with you?" Sage asked once he and Rowen joined them.

The other three Ronins looked at each other and then shrugged as they made room for them and continued their game.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the throne room, the Warlords watched through Talpa's magical mirror as the chibi Ronins played.

"I don't believe this. Those brats are more annoying now than before." Dais growled in annoyance.

"I agree, I prefer them as what they were verses what they are now. Besides, we're Warlords, not baby sitters!" Anubis shot back.

Sekhmet cringed a bit inwardly, "I'd hate to think if they were loose around the castle. Just think what they could get into."

"I'd rather not think about it. Let's just make sure that they stay inside that room until master Talpa has figured out a way to get the armors from them." Cale replied.

The Warlords nodded and then sensed they were being summoned and vanished from the throne room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The chibi Ronins got tired of playing and just started chasing each other around. During the chase, one of them tumbled into the wall, and it moved to the side as it revealed a secret passage. The others stopped and stared at the sliding wall.

"Hey Ryo, are you ok?" Rowen asked when they rushed over.

Ryo rubbed the back of his head and then stood up as he dusted himself off. "Yea, I'm ok."

"Guys, check it out!" Cye exclaimed as he was poking his head inside. "There's a tunnel!"

Kento's eyes went wide in excitement, "Cool! Let's go in!"

Sage frowned deeply in thought, "I'm not sure if we should."

"Come on Sage, you're not chicken, are you?" Kento taunted when he glanced over at him.

"No, I'm not a chicken," Sage rebutted.

"Oh yea! I think you are a big, giant chicken!" Kento said with a teasing grin.

Sage stormed over to the opening and then glanced back at the orange Ronin. "I'll show you who's chicken."

The others watched as Sage walked into the secret passage. They hurried over to the entrance to check on him.

"Sage? Are you ok in there? Sage?" Ryo asked, he frowned deeply when he didn't get an answer.

"Way to go Kento, now we have to go in after him." Rowen said as he was about to go inside.

"Hold on, Kento should go in first," Cye suggested when he glanced over at him.

Kento pulled back in surprise, "Me? Why me?"

"You basically dared him to go in there by calling him a chicken that's why." Cye explained.

He sighed, "Fine, I'll go and get him," Kento frowned a bit and then went inside. He walked further into the passage way as he called out for his friend. "Sage…Sage!"

"Any luck Kento?" Cye shouted to him.

"Not yet!" He shouted back while he continued his search. 'Come on man, where are you already?' Kento stopped and frowned deeply when he heard scuffling. He closed his eyes in order to concentrate a bit more on where the sound originated. From behind a hand slowly was reaching out towards the orange Ronin….


	4. Chapter 4

Ronin Infantry

Ch 4

'Sage has to be in here. I didn't see him come out. Wait! What was that?' Kento thought when he heard something behind him. He slowly turned his head back to try and see what's there. He blinked when he didn't see anyone, and then shrugged as he continued his search. As he went further inside, he could have sworn he heard something. He was just about to turn around when he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. His eyes went wide as he jumped and then turned around and ran out of there.

The others blinked when they saw Kento racing out of the tunnel.

"Hey Kento, where's Sage? I thought you went to get him." Rowen asked.

"I did, I was looking for him. But someone snuck up behind me and..." Kento started to say.

"You ran out like a big chicken." Another voice chimed in.

"Hey, take that back!" Kento exclaimed and then his eyes narrowed when he saw who called him a big chicken. "Sage!"

The blond Ronin couldn't help but laugh. "You should have seen yourself Kento. It was funny."

Kento's eyes narrowed, "I'll give you funny!"

"Come on you two, don't fight." Cye told them as he frowned deeply.

Both Ronins looked at each other and then sighed. "Ok Cye, you win."

"Yea, we're not going to fight." Sage replied with a nod.

Rowen couldn't help but stare at the tunnel. His curiosity was getting the best of him. "I think we still should go and see where it leads."

"Sounds good to me, besides we're all bored staying here. But we go together." Ryo suggested.

All five Ronins looked at each other and then gave a nod. What did they have to lose? They didn't know how long they were in the room or when the Warlords would be back. So all five of them entered the tunnel and followed the twists and turns until finally they came upon an opening.

Once they were in the hall they walked around in awe. "Ooh, this is huge!" Kento exclaimed.

Rowen came across a suite of empty armor. "I wonder what's in here." He started to climb it. Once he got the the helmet he stuck his head inside and it started to move.

Sage looked over to the direction of where the weird sound was coming from. His eyes went wide. "Rowen, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see if anyone's home." Rowen replied, "Whoa!"

The other four Ronins cringed when the empty armor crashed onto the floor, and then raced over towards him.

"Rowen, are you ok?" Ryo asked in concern.

The blue haired Ronin lifted his head. "Birdies, I see lots, and lots of birdies circling my head."

The other Ronins snickered from the sight of him. The helmet was on Rowen's head turned completely around so the back of it was covering his face. One of his arms was through the neck and traveled through the sleeve.

"Is it night time already?" Rowen asked.

Kento and Cye walked over and got on either side of him as they lifted the helmet off of his head. "Better?"

Rowen blinked and then blushed a bit. "Heh, yea thanks."

Sage and Ryo helped Rowen with the rest of the armor and then helped him to his feet.

"That was loud. Let's get out of here before we get in trouble." Sage suggested.

The five Ronins ran down the hall in order to get as far as they could from the old armor.

"Hey, I'm hungry." Kento said when they were now walking in the hall.

"Actually, me too. We didn't eat yet, well, except Ryo. He had cake." Sage brought up as he glanced over at him.

"Hey! I said I was sorry. Cut me a break!" Ryo exclaimed.

"But where can we find food? We never been here before." Cye asked when he looked around at them.

Kento smirked, "Leave that to me. I can find food anywhere."

Ryo crossed his arms and smirked as well. "No kidding."

"Hey! Be nice or you don't get any." Kento said as he stuck out his tongue at him.

"Ok, I be nice. Sorry." Ryo apologized.

"Ok then," Kento replied with a smirk and then sniffed the air. "Food, this way!"

Kento took the lead and the others followed as fast as their little legs could carry them.


	5. Chapter 5

Ronin Infantry

ch 5

The Warlords finished their audience with Talpa, and were now on their way to check on the brats. Anubis frowned deeply when they got closer to the door.

"Anubis?" Sekhmet questioned when he glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"Listen." Anubis replied as he narrowed his eyes while he stared at the door.

Dais looked at him quizzically, "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly, it's too quiet." Anubis pointed out when he unlocked the door and entered along with them.

The four Warlords looked around in shock. The Ronins were gone, and the room was totally trashed.

"I don't believe it, they've escaped," Cale exclaimed angrily. "How can that be possible?"

"Where could they have gone?" Sekhmet asked in annoyance.

Anubis walked over to the open passage on the other side of the room. "It looks like they went through here. We better fined them before Talpa finds out they're loose."

The other Warlords saw Anubis enter the passage and they followed. They found themselves out in the hall which was also in shambles.

"Those brats are going to pay for this!" Dais yelled angrily when he and the other Warlords saw the hall littered with bits and pieces of armor.

"As long as Master Talpa doesn't find out about this, we should be in the clear." Sekhmet stated.

Anubis looked at the others as he scowled. "We need to find them before they cause any more damage."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile the five little Ronins finally found the kitchen.

"What did I tell you?" Kento asked with a smirk on his face.

"Ok, you found the kitchen. Let's get something to eat. Your growling tummy sounds like a big cat." Rowen pointed out as he frowned deeply at Kento.

"Hey, can I help it when I get hungry? I can't say, hey it isn't time to eat to my tummy." Kento replied as the others were already at the food binge.

"Are you two going to keep fighting or are you going to come and eat?" Ryo asked when he held up what looked like rice or something. He raised a brow when he studied the bowl of food. "I think it might be food. It's hard to tell for sure."

Sage looked over at Ryo, "Why don't you try it and find out?"

Ryo pushed the bowl over to Sage, "If you're so sure it is, then why don't you?"

"I asked you first," Sage stated as he stared him down.

"No, you!" Ryo replied in a stubborn manner.

"I insist," Sage said as he pushed the bowl back towards him.

Ryo frowned deeply as he and Sage continued to push the bowl back and forth. "Hey, I'm leader! So, what I say goes, and I say you can try it first."

Sage laughed, "Some leader, you hide behind things and go peek-a-boo!"

Cye just shook his head as he was eating what he found. He didn't understand why his friends had to constantly fight like this. It gave him a headache at times. "Why don't both of you try it at the same time?"

Ryo and Sage were startled and the bowl flew over and dumped all over Kento and Rowen.

The three Ronins looked over the edge and saw the other two covered in food.

Kento and Rowen blinked at each other and then Kento took a small portion of the food from his arm and ate it. "Hey, this isn't bad." The orange Ronin continued to eat as Rowen tasted the food as well.

"He's right but you know what would be better?" Rowen asked after he swallowed and saw a giant bowl of noodles. He climbed up to the table and pulled it over towards him. "Noodles!" The blue Ronin took a handful of wet noodles and threw them right at the other three.

Cye saw the noodles coming and ducked just in time, but unfortunately for Ryo and Sage, they weren't so lucky.

Kento saw the two of them covered and rolled on the floor laughing.

Ryo and Sage looked at each other, "You know what this means?"

Ryo gave a small nod and then found sauce and gave one to Sage. "Food fight!"

Immediately Cye took cover as he shielded himself with a cooking pot for a helmet and a baking sheet for a shield.

The other four Ronins were totally covered in every type of food they could get their little hands on. Rice and noodles stuck on the walls. Flour was showered all over the tables and chairs as well as the entire floor. After a while they ran out of ammunition and the food fight was at an end.

Cye put down his shield and slowly took off the cooking pot from his head as he approached them. "You're in trouble."

"Not if they don't catch us in here we won't be! Come on, let's get out of here!" Ryo said as he lead them to the other exit as they ran out of the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

Ronin Infantry

ch 6

The Warlords heard a loud commotion in the kitchen. They looked at each other and then ran. They skidded to a sudden stop when they saw the catastrophe before them.

"Just wait until I get my hands on those brats!" Anubis swore under his breath as he clenched his fists.

"Get in line. You're not the only one who wants to get them back for causing trouble." Dais replied when he glanced over at him.

"I'm still wondering what master Talpa was thinking when he changed them into the terrors they are now. They're more of a problem in their present state than they were when we fought them before." Sekhmet pointed out as they made their way through the chaos.

"It's just too bad we can't convince Badamon to reverse what master Talpa did." Cale suggested.

"You know as well as the rest of us that won't work. Badamon would be able to see right through us. We might have to have Talpa see for himself the destruction they're bringing onto here himself." Anubis stated with a smirk.

"Only question is, how are we going to get those pests and Talpa into the same room?" Sekhmet inquired when he glanced at him.

"We'll just have to make sure that those runts are in his throne room at the same time. While the rest of us are at a different part of the castle." Anubis replied.

"How are they going to be lured into the throne room?" Cale asked with a raised brow.

Dais smirked, "I have an idea."

The Warlords made their way out of the kitchen and positioned themselves in the rafters of the ceiling so they would have a better view without Talpa or the Ronins knowing they were there.

"Are you sure that this will work Dais?" Cale asked.

"Just be quiet and watch. I'm not known as Warlord of Illusion for nothing." Dais cast his illusion into the throne room.

The Ronins stopped suddenly and looked around in confusion.

"Hey, hear that," Kento asked with a confused look, "Is it music?"

"That's not the only thing. I hear rides." Sage replied when he glanced around at his friends.

"It can't be, can it," Ryo asked, "Come on, let's go see!"

As they ran, the music and the sounds of the rides were getting louder and louder. "A carnival!"

Their eyes went so wide that they almost took up their entire face. They could barely contain their excitement as they raced further on into the throne room.

"Where to start?!" Ryo asked excitedly. He and the others were overwhelmed with all the rides and games that seemed to be in front of them.

"I don't know about you guys. But I'm going to play that!" Kento stated when he saw test your strength. He and Cye ran over towards it.

"That'll be too hard," Cye said when they stood in front of it. "Try something else."

Kento smirked as he shook his head. "No way! This will be easy. I bet I can hit the top. Just watch!"

Cye shrugged as he watched Kento rub his hands together and picked up the mallet. He took a couple of practice swings and then he hit it so hard that it took the bell off. "I told you!"

"You broke it Kento! You broke it!" Cye exclaimed wide eyed.

"Eh, it wasn't that much fun. Let's try something else." Kento replied as he dropped the mallet. When the two of them turned their backs at the test your strength game. The illusion of that one faded, and turned out to be Talpa's throne. The throne was smashed in half and the legs were broken off as the two pieces leaned in on each other. The mallet turned out to be what was once a very thick candle stick holder, except now it was nothing but a wrangled mess.

"Ryo, why don't you go up there?" Sage asked with a smirk as he motioned to a plank that was over a tank.

The dark-haired Ronin raised a brow at him, "What are you up to? Why do you want me to go up there?"

"Let's just call it pay back for not sharing." Sage replied.

"But, I already apologized for that. So, I'm not going up." Ryo shot back as he turned his back on him and crossed his arms.

Sage shrugged, "Ok, then I guess you're chicken."

When Ryo heard those words he whirled around and glared at him. "Take that back!"

"No," Sage said, "I don't have to."

"Oh yea!"

"Yea!"

"Chicken! Brawk!"

"Sage! Cut that out!"

"Then go up there and I'll stop."

Ryo growled, "Fine," then he stormed over to the tank and sat down on the board over it. "Told you I wasn't chicken!"

Sage just smirked and took three balls.

"What are those for?" Ryo asked.

"You'll see," Sage replied, he threw the first ball it missed.

Ryo laughed, "You throw like a girl."

Sage just shook his head and threw the second one, and it barely nicked it.

Ryo grabbed onto the seat as he felt it move, but then he regained his composure. "Heh, ok we're even. I'll come down now."

"Stay there Ryo, I still have one throw left."

Ryo's eyes went wide, "I take it back! You don't throw like a girl! You don't throw like a girl!"

Sage released the third ball and it hit dead center. He watched as Ryo was dunked into the tank. He then casually went over and waited for Ryo to resurface. "Now, we're even."

Ryo spat out the water and glared at him. "Ok, happy now?"

"Yes."

"Good, now help me out of here," Ryo stated as he reached up towards him.

Sage reached down and got a hold of Ryo's hands. He started to pull him out but somehow Ryo's shirt got caught on something from the inside. He looked over to where the others were. "Hey! I need help over here!"

Rowen, Kento and Cye ran over to them. "What's wrong?"

"I can't get Ryo out of there." Sage replied.

Rowen studied the situation, "Ok, Kento and I will go on our hands and knees, Sage and Cye stand on us and pull Ryo out."

"Ok," Sage agreed, and then let go of Ryo.

"SAGE!" Ryo fell back into the water and made a huge splash.

The blonde Ronin winced when he realized what he just did.

Ryo resurfaced again, "Sage, when I get out of here..."

"Ryo, save it for later," Rowen replied when he motioned to Kento get on his hands and knees. Once the two of them were down, Cye and Sage got on their backs and reached in for him. As they were pulling him out the tank was starting to topple over.

"Hurry up, it's going to tip!" Cye exclaimed when they were quickly trying to get him out. When they had him half way the entire tank did tip over and they sprawled on the floor totally drenched. The illusion of the tank was replaced with what was originally there before, one of Badamon's caldrons.

"Aw man! Now we're all wet!" Kento huffed in annoyance.

"My hair," Sage exclaimed, "My beautiful hair."

"Serves you right," Ryo replied when he smirked at him.

"Come on, let's just find something else to do." Cye suggested as he and the others finally were on their feet.

"Yea, let's see if we can find some rides." Kento replied.

The Warlords watched as the chibi Ronins started to look for rides at this imaginary carnival.

"Master Talpa will skin them alive when he sees this." Sekhmet stated as he glanced at the others.

"Then we'll just have to make sure we are not around when he does. Besides, there's no way he'll know it was us that set this up anyway." Dais replied with a smirk.


	7. Chapter 7

Ronin Infantry

Ch 7

Talpa was on his way to see how the Warlords were handling the chibi Ronins. When he was about to pass his throne room, he heard laughter. Why was there laughter coming from there?

Anubis heard footsteps as they approached. "Dais, I hear someone coming. It sounds like Master Talpa. Call back your illusion!"

Dais gave a nod and called it back. The carnival was no longer there, but what stood in the wake was a demolished throne room. The Warlords vanished from their hiding place.

Talpa entered, and he was extremely enraged. "What have you done!?"

The chibi Ronins stopped what they were doing and turned around as they saw Talpa as he stood there with his eyes blazing. They gulped and huddled together.

"What happened to the carnival?" Rowen asked.

"What carnival are you talking about? This is my throne room! You little runts destroyed it!" Talpa shouted at them.

"No we didn't. We were on rides, played games. Music was playing." Ryo tried to explain to him.

"There is no music here, no games, no rides! Fun does not exist in my realm!" Talpa growled.

"No kidding, come on, let's get out of here." Kento said when he turned his back on Talpa and started to leave as the others followed closely behind.

"Who said you could leave," Talpa stated as he blasted black energy in front of them. "You have to clean this up!"

They whirled around and glared at him. "No way! That's against the law! You can't make us!" Rowen shouted.

"The only laws here are mine, now, clean this up or face the consequences." Talpa growled.

"You're a bad old man! You're mean!" Cye exclaimed when he stuck his tongue out at him.

Talpa smirked, "You have no idea child of how mean I can be."

"Hey! Let's show him he can't be mean to us!" Sage said as he and the others charged at Talpa and tackled him to the ground with their combined force.

"You little runts! Get off of me now!" Talpa yelled angrily as he was trying to fight them off.

"Forget you! Keep it up guys!" Ryo exclaimed when he tugged at his mask.

Kento ended up jumping up and down on Talpa's stomach like a trampoline. Sage tugged at Talpa's hair which was connected to the mask. While Rowen and Cye were kicking on Talpa's sides.

The Warlords watched from a far off room of what was going on with their master and the Ronins.

Sekhmet glanced at the others, "Do you think we should help him?"

"I'm sure Master Talpa can handle a handful of brats." Anubis replied when he crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall.

Dais leaned forward as he got a closer look of the situation. "I think, we better get to the throne room."

Sekhmet raised a brow at him, "Why? We have no reason to be there. So, what are you worried about?"

"Take a look for yourself," Sekhmet replied when he moved away and showed them what he meant.

The Warlords paled when they saw what happened next and then ran out of the room.

"It's almost...Off," Ryo said when he did one more good yank of the mask. "Ah! No face! He has no face!"

Ryo ran behind the tipped over cauldron with Talpa's mask still in his hands.

Sage, Cye, Rowen, and Kento stopped what they were doing and then looked at each other. They yelled as well when they saw what Ryo did was true. Behind Talpa's mask was no face. So the other four Ronins ran away from him and joined Ryo.

"That was scary," Cye said when he was trying to catch his breath. "I want to go home now."

"What are you talking about? I wasn't scared." Kento replied when he crossed his arms.

"Then why did you yell and run like the rest of us then?" Sage asked with a small frown.

"I wanted you to feel better." Kento replied in a huff.

"So not! Admit it Kento, you were scared too!" Rowen taunted as he stared him down.

"Ok, I was scared, but if you tell anyone, I'll come after you!" Kento replied.

As they continued to bicker among themselves at that moment the mask Ryo still had in his hands came alive. "Put my mask back onto my body you brats!"

"AH! IT'S ALIVE! RUN!" Ryo exclaimed when he threw the mask up into the air while he and the others ran away.

Just as the Warlords ran to the entrance to the throne room, the chibi Ronins crashed into them and knocked the Warlords to the ground. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Anubis grumbled in annoyance.

They didn't even respond to Anubis, instead the five of them untangled themselves from the Warlords and continued to run away.

The Warlords got up and made their way over to Talpa's body. On the way over, Dais picked up the mask and placed it upon his body.

Talpa's eyes glowed and he got back onto his feet. "That's it! The armors are not worth dealing with them when they are in this state."

"What are you intending to do Master Talpa?" Dais inquired.

"I'm going to change them back and then send them home. They won't remember what happened here. I'll figure another way to reclaim the armors. As for the four of you, you'll be cleaing this mess up! Then I'll figure out another punishment for you later." Talpa replied with a growl. He then chanted a spell. The spell opened up a portal back to Earth.

Back in Mia's manor, the Ronins were scattered around the livingroom. Ryo was sprawled upside down in the recliner. Sage's body was underneath the glass-top table. Cye and Kento were face down on the couch upside down. Rowen was pinned under another chair which was overturned. There was opened take-out food and half-empty cans all over the place.

"Aw man, what happened," Kento asked when he and the others were becoming conscious. "My head feels like it's been hit by a mat truck."

"I don't know, but that is going to be the last time we do take-out from a restaurant down at the warf." Sage replied as he was slowly getting out from under the table.

Rowen pushed the chair off of himself and then sat up. "What a mess. It's going to take us all day to clean this up."

Ryo got himself to sit up in the recliner and then looked around at the others. "Anyone else got the feeling something happened to us, or is it just my imagination?"

"Hard to say for sure Ryo, but I agree with Kento, my head hurts. I say we get this cleaned up and then see about getting some rest." Cye replied as he was trying to get to his feet.

Ryo gave a nod, he got up from the recliner and then he went behind it when their backs were turned.

Cye walked to the kitchen and grabbed some garbadge bags and other cleaning supplies. He returned with them and set the items down on the coffee table. He saw that Sage was frowning deeply. "What's the matter Sage?"

"Did any of you see where Ryo went? He was here one minute and gone the next." Sage asked when he rubbed the back of his head.

A noise behind the recliner got their attention. The four of them made their way over to it. When they got there, Ryo stuck his head out, "Peak-a-boo!"


End file.
